This book is about one of the most complex and puzzling of our chief executives at the apogee of his career--rebounding from defeat to an innovative, high-risk presidency, already sowing the seeds of his ruin. Illustrated.

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I wish Ambrose had taken a bit more of an unbiased look at Nixon in this book. He did a better job of hiding his hatred of the man in Volume 1. Nixon had enough faults and problems without having to ramp up any negatives.

I've really liked Ambrose's other works and was just disappointed to see him let his bias show so much.

Everyone agrees that Nixon was a complex and perhaps a strange man. What strikes me about Stephen Ambrose's biography is that how similar Nixon is to other conservative leaders. I'm not sure if conservative politicians consciously followed the Nixon template or that it is the nature of right wing governments in liberal democracies that they tend to be secretive, paranoid, run by resolute cynics who tend to be driven by reacting to enemies.

A demonised man, the ultimate political cynic whose nickEveryone agrees that Nixon was a complex and perhaps a strange man. What strikes me about Stephen Ambrose's biography is that how similar Nixon is to other conservative leaders. I'm not sure if conservative politicians consciously followed the Nixon template or that it is the nature of right wing governments in liberal democracies that they tend to be secretive, paranoid, run by resolute cynics who tend to be driven by reacting to enemies.

A demonised man, the ultimate political cynic whose nick name, while on one level trite, was powerfully true; he was "Tricky Dicky". He played the American political system like a master musician plays his chosen instrument. He wire tapped his own cabinet. He ran vendettas against his "enemies". He could rise not above the fray indeed he often undercut his own programs to gain political advantage. He employed people who employed all the political black arts. He played them and they played him. The paranoid, back biting secretive style permeated the whole of his administration.

Ambrose's style is to meticulously dissect Nixon's actions and political conduct. Occasionally he cannot help himself and editorializes on Nixon's personality. Mostly however he lets Nixon's actions speak for themselves. An example is an agonizingly awful episode when Nixon emotionally blackmails his family into pleading with him to run in the 1968 election even after he promised that he had enough of politics and would never run again. He knew his wife Pat particularly hated campaigning. Strangely so too did Nixon. He was the shy Quaker boy who hated falsity and fake bonhomie. What is democratic politics but fake bonhomie? Conversely what kind of prick plays politics his own family?

Ambrose has been accused of plagiarism and I only heard of this after I was halfway through the book. I cannot say anything about this in relation to this book. I feel that he has not set out to "get" Nixon. He does try to set him in the context of his times and when he can underlines Nixon's success. Maybe Ambrose did take others stories and work and claimed them as his own but in this case I think not.

"IT IS MEALYMOUTHED, even cowardly, to end an assessmentby saying that Nixon deserved to be re-elected and deserved to be repudiated. But a contradictory judgment seems inescapable with this contradictory man, the author of détente and the author of the Watergate cover-up."

Picked this one up after seeing the film Frost/Nixon, which provided an interesting glossing over of the crucial issues of Nixon's presidential regime. I've been itching to dive a little deeper into some American history (about which I'm woefully under-educated), and the movie made me realize Nixon's era might be a good place to start as it covers a huge array of major economic and political issues that continue to be hot topics to this day.

The late Stephen Ambrose was a respected biographer whoPicked this one up after seeing the film Frost/Nixon, which provided an interesting glossing over of the crucial issues of Nixon's presidential regime. I've been itching to dive a little deeper into some American history (about which I'm woefully under-educated), and the movie made me realize Nixon's era might be a good place to start as it covers a huge array of major economic and political issues that continue to be hot topics to this day.

The late Stephen Ambrose was a respected biographer who was successful enough during his life to actually be contacted personally by President Eisenhower to write HIS biography—which he did. He's an extremely thorough researcher, and not much of a writer. Triumph of a Politician clocks in at nearly 650 pages, and it's just one-third of an entire trilogy about the man, each installment as weighty as the next. There's no filtering going on in this book, no artful array of information, no nuance, no craft. Ambrose absorbed a massive amount of information, then sprayed it all over the page, for page after page, scribbling down seemingly every detail he could get his hands on regarding the period of Nixon's life during his rise to the presidency. There's analysis, but it's crude, borderline juvenile, sarcastic, and often shockingly poorly worded, sometimes nearly unreadable.

Nixon was a conflicted, contrary, dazzlingly confusing man, who did both great and terrible things for his country. Ambrose covers and comments on both, jumping at any chance to snidely deride the man, sounding reluctant when he has to relate the man's achievements. There can be no doubt Nixon was secretive, conniving, paranoid, self-serving and vaguely unpleasant—in Ambrose's hands he also comes across as naive and supremely self-deluded. Ambrose simply didn't like him, and though he does fairly represent the successes of the Nixon presidency (along with many failures), he doesn't sound happy about it. His condescending tone makes him seem like more of jerk than Nixon was.

All that aside, though, this book IS chock full of historical information, and I really did learn a ton about the Vietnam war, racial relations in the late '60s/early '70s, Soviet/American relations during the cold war, and a bunch of other interesting stuff. Ambrose also does a nice job of relating the actions of Nixon's co-stars, particularly Henry Kissinger, who was second only to Nixon himself in terms of conniving antics and deeds that put his own PR and best interests before the country's. I'd heard of Kissinger of course, but didn't really know what his role was in American history outside of the fact he seems to be generally reviled and often parodied. In terms of international relations, though, he was basically Nixon's righthand man, and now I want to read a whole book about Kissinger.

As a pure read, I can't recommend Triumph—it's way too dense and under-edited. As a reading experience, it's barely a step removed from reading the encyclopedia. But it provides a great survey of the key issues and events of Nixon's time. For this aspiring history buff, it was an excellent starting point. Now I'm going to read some books by some biographers and historians who can actually craft a sentence....more

Good insight into Nixon's run for president and jis pre-downfall years. What all was going on? Kennedy and Johnson handed Nixon the nightmare of Vietnam. Domestic terrorism had taken root in politicians being shot, buildings burned, and looting (often under the guise of peace protests). The civil rights movement was still just in its infancy and white America was not ready for it. The Russians had achieved equality with the US in the nuclear arms race. China was playing an ever-increasing role iGood insight into Nixon's run for president and jis pre-downfall years. What all was going on? Kennedy and Johnson handed Nixon the nightmare of Vietnam. Domestic terrorism had taken root in politicians being shot, buildings burned, and looting (often under the guise of peace protests). The civil rights movement was still just in its infancy and white America was not ready for it. The Russians had achieved equality with the US in the nuclear arms race. China was playing an ever-increasing role in Asia. Into this, America elected a suspicious, duplicitous political genius. Ambrose's account is even-handed (telling the story of Nixon cannot always be flattering) and he describes Nixon's successes (China, the SALT treaty) as well has his failures. An enjoyable read. I look forward to reading volume 3, which goes through the resignation and his long relationship with the presidents who followed him, all of whom--including Clinton more than any of them--sought Nixon's counsel during their presidencies. ...more

The book closes with the election of 1972 when the Democrats imploded around the candidacy of George McGovern. Nixon should have behaved as Reagan did in 1984 and been a gentleman to the man he knew he was going to crush. Instead, his paranoia of losing and his drive to create a massive "mandate" that would empower him to completely reshape government and the federal bureaucracy to his liking, planted the seeds of his downfall.

The machinations of Watergate are covered in Ambrose's third volume.The book closes with the election of 1972 when the Democrats imploded around the candidacy of George McGovern. Nixon should have behaved as Reagan did in 1984 and been a gentleman to the man he knew he was going to crush. Instead, his paranoia of losing and his drive to create a massive "mandate" that would empower him to completely reshape government and the federal bureaucracy to his liking, planted the seeds of his downfall.

The machinations of Watergate are covered in Ambrose's third volume. What emerges from Ambrose's text in this volume is an appreciation of Nixon's intelligence, strength in the face of adversity, and his personal conduct. What is also evident is Ambrose's frequent disgust with Nixon's ruthless and cruel conduct in both politics and government. Nixon was a study in the duality of man and Ambrose covers both sides well. ...more

Ambrose's writing is engaging and almost conversational. He strikes an appropriate balance of maintaining objectivity and providing critical assessments of Nixon and his excesses (of which there were many). He gives credit where credit is due, but also does not hesitate to call Nixon on his lies and manipulations (of which, again, there were many). To the extent that Ambrose has been accused of plagiarism in his works, I'm not aware of any alleged instances of that in this book. All in all, theAmbrose's writing is engaging and almost conversational. He strikes an appropriate balance of maintaining objectivity and providing critical assessments of Nixon and his excesses (of which there were many). He gives credit where credit is due, but also does not hesitate to call Nixon on his lies and manipulations (of which, again, there were many). To the extent that Ambrose has been accused of plagiarism in his works, I'm not aware of any alleged instances of that in this book. All in all, the book provides an excellent narrative of Nixon's comeback from political oblivion and his first term as President. It also provides an insighftul closing assessment of Nixon's first term. ...more

Superbly written history of one of the most controversial Presidents we have ever had. Takes a a close look at his personality and why he was the way he was from his triumphs to his failures as an individual. A must read for anyone interested in that historical time frame. I live through those times but still found this extremely enlightening.

As always a good read by Ambrose. The book makes me think no politician is really worthy of the office of President. They are ALL so flawed. It is not the desire to serve and move the country towards a better place, but a sick desire for power and control.

I normally don't have any problem getting through a book like this, but I admit I struggled here; it was only my absolute determination to finish that saw me through. I think this book was almost a little too detailed, and I could never find a rhythm to really get into it.

The Second in the series makes you want to immediately start the third and final. Nixon went from losing the California Governors race in 1962 to being elected President 6 years later. This was the comeback of all comebacks.

Part 2 of Ambrose's Nixon series is a balanced look at his return from the political wilderness, eventually to reach the Oval Office. Such a biography of Nixon seems unlikely today, which is unfortunate.